TIDMEDEN
RNS Number : 0554N
Eden Research plc
15 January 2019
15 January 2019
Eden Research Plc
("Eden" or "Company")
Year-end trading update
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed company that
develops and supplies breakthrough biopesticide products and
natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop
protection, animal health and consumer products industries, is
pleased to provide the following unaudited trading update for the
year ended 31 December 2018.
The Company has delivered a pleasing year of growth with revenue
for the year expected to be in the region of GBP2.8m, up 48% from
GBP1.9m in 2017, with a loss before tax of approximately GBP1.0m
(2017: loss of GBP0.8m). Statutory operating loss is expected to be
c.GBP0.9m (2017: loss of GBP0.6m). Operating profit, excluding
share-based payment charges, exceptional royalties refund and
amortisation, is expected to be c.GBP0.02m (2017: loss of GBP0.6m).
The majority of revenue was product sales which doubled in 2018 to
c.GBP1.6m from GBP0.8m in 2017. The balance of the revenue in 2018,
being c.GBP1.2m, was made up of upfront, milestone and other
payments and royalties (2017: GBP1.1m). The Group's cash position
remains strong with cash at the year-end of c.GBP2.5m (2017:
GBP3.7m).
In December, the Company's commercial partner, Sipcam Oxon SpA
("Sipcam"), exercised its option over the exclusive distribution
rights in all ten countries covered under the 2017 Evaluation and
Option Agreement, for which a fee of EUR0.9m (GBP0.8m) has been
paid to Eden. As a result, Sipcam will be the exclusive distributor
of Eden's fungicide product, known as Mevalone, in twelve countries
including Italy, Spain, USA, China, Brazil and Japan.
During the year, Eden made an application to the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the regulatory approval
of Mevalone, Cedroz (a nematicide product being marketed by our
partner, Eastman Chemical) and three active ingredients in the USA.
The EPA's scientific reviews are expected to be completed before
the end of 2019. The USA is the largest market in the world for
crop protection products and is a major producer of grapes, and the
addition of this important country to our commercial footprint is
expected to contribute meaningfully to the Company's revenue in the
years to come. Now, with commercial partners in place, we only
await the regulatory clearance before sales can commence.
Additional product commercialisation opportunities for new products
are expected to be possible once approval of the three active
ingredients is granted.
Given the considerable importance of regulatory approvals to the
growth of the Company's business, Eden submitted its application
for authorisation of Mevalone in Australia and received approval
for authorisation in the Republic of Macedonia. Furthermore, Eden's
partner, Eastman, is actively pursuing registration of Eden's
second product, Cedroz, in a total of 29 countries. Initial
authorisations are anticipated in 2019, but the precise timing is
subject to the successful completion of the regulatory review
process in each country.
On 10 October 2018, the Company announced that TerpeneTech,
Eden's associate company, had received regulatory clearance to sell
its head-lice product in the European Economic Area. TerpeneTech is
now working with its distribution partner to launch that product in
the U.K. in 2019. TerpeneTech is also actively working to establish
distribution partners in new territories including elsewhere in
Europe and also the United States.
The launch of animal health products in the USA by Eden's
partner, Bayer Animal Health ("Bayer"), has been delayed due to a
recently-identified need for additional formulation work on one of
the three initial products Bayer has developed. It is now
anticipated that the launch of these products will take place in
2019, subject to successful completion of the additional
formulation work. Bayer and Eden are working closely together to
expedite matters.
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden, said: "2018 showed
continued growth in the sale of Mevalone in southern Europe despite
low disease pressure attributed to another hot, dry summer. We are
encouraged by the doubling of Mevalone sales during the year as
this reflects the increasing acceptance of Mevalone in the market,
the optimised product positioning initiated by our partners and its
adoption and continued use by growers.
The opportunities in Eden's core crop protection business are
growing well. In addition to the products that Eden has developed
and is commercialising through its partners, there are a number of
pipeline products which are in the process of being tested by
potential partners including several candidate insecticide products
which would represent our first entry into the insecticide segment.
Whilst it is early in the development of these formulations,
initial results have been encouraging.
Sustaineä, Eden's patented, natural micro-encapsulation
technology, is being evaluated by an increasing number of parties,
including Sipcam, on a large and growing number of active
ingredients used in crop protection. This technology represents
significant medium-term potential for the Company, and we are
pleased with the attention it is receiving in the hands of current
and new collaborators.
We are pleased with the overall performance of the business in
2018 and believe that we have established an excellent platform
from which we can continue to grow both in 2019 and, importantly,
the medium and long term."
For further information, please contact:
Eden Research plc www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith
Alex Abrey 01285 359 555
Shore Capital (Nomad) 020 7408 4090
Stephane Auton / Patrick Castle
Powerscourt (Financial PR) 020 7250 1446
Nick Dibden eden@powerscourt-group.com
Jana Tsiligiannis
Notes:
Eden Research is a technology development and commercialisation
company with intellectual property and expertise in encapsulation,
terpenes and environmentally friendly technologies to provide
naturally occurring solutions for the global agrochemicals, animal
health, and consumer product industries.
Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy
of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and
can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to
enhance their performance and ease-of-use. The technology uses
yeast cells that are a by-product of numerous commercial production
processes to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for
agricultural and non-agricultural uses. Terpenes are already widely
used in the food flavouring, cosmetics and pharmaceutical
industries.
Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the
agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor
solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a
unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and
enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk
agrochemicals.
Eden is developing these technologies through innovative
research and a series of commercial production, marketing and
distribution partnerships.
The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products
at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the
global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in
the region of GBP13m in developing and protecting its intellectual
property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely
upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company
have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing
patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory
approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering
into commercial agreements.
In May 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first
commercial product, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use
in plant protection products. This represented a major milestone in
the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant
accomplishment for any company. To illustrate this point, one
should note that in all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of
only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.
3AEY has been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece,
Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus, Albania, Portugal and the
Republic of Macedonia.
Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades
under the symbol EDEN.
For more information about Eden, please visit:
www.edenresearch.com.
The 2018 results reported above are unaudited, pending
completion of the annual audit by KPMG.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
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contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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